Life of a Dead Man
by Shadu
Summary: AU Instead of Owen's death in "Reset," it's Ianto who dies. The hardest part for him is dealing with what comes next. For Jack, it's his inability to help the one he cares for. Spoilers for "Reset" and "Dead Man Walking." Hint of Jack/Ianto.
1. Prologue

Author's note: This story is not just a random idea I generated. A good friend of mine read somewhere that Ianto was actually originally slated to die in "Reset." I got to thinking about it and decided I wanted to explore the idea. So, in essence, this is an alternate universe story. Owen's still there and Ianto is the one who died. With that being said, here goes the fun.

"Do it," Jack ordered, giving a nod to Toshiko.

She pressed the enter button.

"Facility shut down in progress," the computer announced. "All personnel must evacuate immediately."

Ianto, who was standing around the back of the van, saw Owen and Martha. He strode over to the two as the computer continued to repeat its message. Smiling at Martha, he offered his hand to her, but she waved him off a little and Owen gave him an odd look. Ianto took a step back, showing he meant nothing by it, raising his hands to prove it.

The computer had run through its third reiteration of the announcement when they all heard a metallic click, the click of a gun barrel moving into place and ready to shoot. Ianto was the first to react, automatically swinging his body in front of his comrades as they all watched the scientist walk towards them, a gleaming black gun pointed squarely at Ianto.

"Did you really think I would let you all just walk away? You ruined everything I worked for!" Dr. Copley growled, taking another step forward.

Ianto held up his hands in submission, his eyes focused squarely on the menacing mouth of the gun. He was aware that he couldn't reach for his gun. Any move and he could have his blood splattered over the van. Of course, that just made his pulse go mad. "Let's not be hasty now. I know you don't really want to shoot that."

"Move out of the way," his voice was low and threatening.

"You don't want to do this. I can tell. Just lower the gun," Ianto inched forward and squarely in front of Martha. Owen took this as a cue and slowly stepped behind Ianto.

"Move out of the way."

"Please put the gun down. No one has to get hurt."

"Move out of the way!"

"You don't want to do this," Ianto could feel the panic rising in his throat as he watched Copley's finger close in around the trigger. "You're a rational man. You don't have to do-"

Ianto never got to finish his sentence.

The bang of the gun sent rang out loud and clear, striking Ianto square in the chest, blood spreading quickly over his clothing and soaking it. He fell back, Owen catching him as he did and lowering him to the ground. Jack was the first to react, pulling out his Webley from its holster in one fluid movement and aiming it at Copley. While the others were still reeling in shock, Jack took a smooth shot. One shot straight though the head was all he needed. Copley fell to the ground, blood oozing freely from the head wound.

Jack quickly put his gun away as he knelt down beside Martha, who was on Ianto's left side by his head. Owen had already started trying to aid Ianto, having unbuttoned his jacket and waistcoat, but all it seemed to do was show how much blood he had already lost and how quickly it was going.

"Ja…ck," Ianto gasped out weakly, as his eyes slipped closed, each breath getting harder and harder to pull into his body.

"Ianto! Ianto!" Jack yelled, putting his hands on both sides of Ianto's face. "Ianto, look at me! Look at me! Open your eyes Ianto!"

As Jack talked to Ianto, Owen was pressing his hands on the gapping wound, causing Ianto to groan as Martha reached for Owen's backpack. Toshiko found she could only stand back and watch in horror as her colleagues tried desperately to save his life. Gwen was beside her and trying not to cry, pleading Ianto's eyes to ease open again.

"It's…o…okay," Ianto choked out, a small smile toying at the edges of his mouth.

"No, Ianto! Don't…" Jack pleaded, stroking Ianto's forehead. "You can pull through this."

"Lisa…would…be…proud."

"Ianto! No! Stay here! Stay with me!"

Martha was still fishing around in Owen's backpack when she sighed and finally pulled out a syringe, sticking it into Ianto's flesh and thrusting down the plunger. However, his eyes never reopened and when Ianto took one last, shuddering, breath before slowly letting it out and lying still, the two doctors knew it was too late.

"Ianto?!" Jack cried out one more time before looking over to Martha who had her fingers on Ianto's neck.

Her sad, forlorn eyes looked up to Jack, and even without speech, he knew. He barely heard the words of those around him. All he could focus on was Ianto's still face in disbelief until the very sight of Ianto's closed eyes became unbearable. He looked away at the SUV, fighting back his emotions. He was only dimly aware Martha addressed him.

"I'm sorry Jack. He's dead."


	2. Chapter 1

Jack looked over the railing down into the autopsy room. That's all it ever seemed to get used for. Never to save someone, never to heal any body, always to examine the dead. Just the occasional person was saved in there. This was accepted. It was an autopsy room and seeing dead bodies here was custom. However, tonight, it was different. Tonight, it wasn't an alien lying there. It wasn't a stranger from the streets. No, tonight it wasn't an anonymous being lying on the cold steel table.

Tonight it was Ianto.

The whole group was watching glumly from various areas around the room, but only Owen moved on the floor around the table. He was searching various drawers and cabinets for his autopsy tools, but even he moved slowly, almost reluctantly. Though he hadn't been known for his fondness of Ianto, it pained him to see his co-worker on his dissecting table. Part of his emotion was actually sorrow from losing the tea boy, but the other was a realization Owen had come to after seeing Ianto die before his very eyes; they all seemed to have forgotten that they were bound by the same rules as every other mortal. Only Jack could forget this because the rules of death no longer applied to him. Lucky bastard.

It wasn't until Owen finally found his kit and had rolled it out on the wheeled tray that anyone dared speech.

"Touch the scalpel and die," Jack said suddenly, his voice low and somber.

Owen's hand stopped, hovering just over the silver instrument. He looked up to Jack, who was leaning on the rail with his head lowered. "What?"

"Touch the scalpel, even think about touching the scalpel, and I will kill you."

"Jack, we need to do an autopsy," Martha piped up from the left concrete steps.

"Why? Why do we really need an autopsy when we all saw how he died?" Jack's head raised only a little.

"It's procedure Jack," Owen supplied. "It's the way we've always done it."

"Screw it!" Jack's head suddenly snapped up. "No one will touch him! Not until I say, got it?" A stern finger was shaken at Owen. "He is not to be cut open! Understand?"

"Why does it matter? He's going to have to be cut open eventually."

"Not. Yet," the look in Jack's eyes startled everyone, showing a conflict of pain and anger.  
"Okay Jack, okay," Owen raised his hands in the air, stepping away from the tray.

"Show some respect," Jack growled, pushing off the rail. "It could've been you, after all."

The others looked uneasily at each other as Jack ascended the stairs and went into his office, closing the door with extra force. Walking to the glass windows, he slammed his fist on the metal frame, rattling the big windows several times, each a little weaker before finally resting his forearm across the glass and setting his forehead on it.

His anger dissipated into grief, his shoulders sagging. He wanted to cry. He felt the emotion, but the tears wouldn't come. He should've known this would happen. He knew that Ianto would die eventually. Everyone he ever cared about had and everyone he ever would care about had and will die, and he knew all this. He questioned why he even let himself fall for someone again. All it ever brought him was pain in the end.

He sighed, walking over to his office chair and sitting down in it heavily. His eyes roved around his office, thinking of how cold it seemed now. He couldn't help but feel alone and isolated. Everyone else was sad as well, but the death didn't mean as much to them. Ianto was more than just a co-worker to Jack.

His eyes trailed down to his desk, seeing the various papers and objects scattered about. Typed reports, all with organizational information hand-written in the upper right corner. Ianto's hand writing. There were a few hand-written official papers as well, but they would be typed eventually. Jack's eyes fell on some hand written notes, most from the others requesting various supplies or notes for someone who called for him. He picked up one yellow sticky note, looking at Ianto's scrawl. On official things, Ianto always had such neat hand writing, but when he was just writing a quick note, it turned out very messy. On any other day, Jack would've found Ianto's note asking for more paper clips and ink pens humorous. As Jack recalled, Ianto was trying to get out of the Hub quickly that day. There was a movie in theaters he had wanted to see and was already running late. Any other day, Jack would've smiled. But today, it just made his heart ache more.

He shifted a few papers, collecting them and neatly stacking them together. A small gleam of tarnished silver from underneath some papers attracted Jack's attention. Pushing the papers out of the way, he saw what it was.

With a lost look in his eyes, Jack picked up the object. It was Ianto's stopwatch. Old, tarnished, the silver was barely shining anymore and the faceplate had shifted and yellowed with time. The metal was smooth and cool in his hand, well used and well-loved. He had asked Ianto on one occasion about where he got the stopwatch from, and why he carried it around. Ianto stated that his father had given it to him. Shortly after, his father had died. Ianto had only been thirteen when it had happened.

He clicked the button on the top, starting the ticking of the clock. How many times had he heard that sound for various things? And now, it seemed so far away.

Jack's mind began to wander back to earlier times.

_"By the way! Love the coat," Ianto called as Jack walked away, heaving the Weevil around his neck._

_Jack never paused. He only shook his head as he continued to walk._

Jack weakly smiled. As far as first impressions go, Ianto's hadn't been that bad. Maybe a little pushy, but he knew what he was doing, and he complimented Jack. That always scored points in his book. He had often wondered if Ianto knew this, had heard stories and all. Still, whether he had or hadn't, Ianto knew that a little flattery could help.

_"Look, you checked me out," Ianto stopped Jack's progression again._

_"You knew what a Weevil was," Jack stated. "Thought I was gonna have to come deal with you."_

_"But instead you can see I have the right qualifications for the job."_

_"There is no job! We're nothing to do with Torchwood London. I severed all links."_

_"Yeah, well it burnt!" Ianto called as Jack pushed forward and started walking again. "Two members of your team scavenged the ruins," Ianto stopped Jack again, standing in front of him._

_"Don't want the equipment getting into the wrong hands," Jack removed Ianto's hand._

_"And you're the right hands are you?" Ianto paused. "Trial period. Three months."_

_"No," Jack shook his head._

_"Three weeks," he paused. "Three days!" he offered when he saw Jack's expression didn't change. "Let me prove myself to you. I'll work for nothing!"_

_"No," Jack pushed past Ianto again._

_"I saw what they did at Canary Wharf!" Ianto stopped Jack again, pressing on despite the angry sigh Jack gave him. "What am I supposed to do with those memories?"_

_"You are not my responsibility," Jack stated loudly. "And we're not hiring."_

_"Same time tomorrow then?" Ianto called as he watched Jack walk away._

_"There is no job for you here and there never will be."_

_"Okay this has to stop," Jack stated crossly as he walked towards Ianto._

_Ianto's eyes squinted in the bright headlights of the car, but he never backed down. "No, listen to me."_

_"I don't have time for this!" Jack pointed a finger at the man as he came closer and stood in front of the car with him. "Look, I don't care what you're problem is, I want you out of the city by sun rise. There is no place for you here! Go back to London, find yourself another life. Keep stalking me, I'll wipe your memory!"_

_"No, but the thing is if-"_

_"Look, any conversation between us, no matter what the subject, is over! Finished! Done! Forever! I'm getting back behind the wheel of that car. If you're still standing in the road, I'm gonna drive through you."_

_With that, Jack started back to the car. But then Ianto said something that surprised him._

_"So you're not going to help me catch this pterodactyl then?"_

Jack couldn't help but chuckle a little at the memories of his first introductions to Ianto Jones. He had been annoyed, at the time, but also partially impressed. Of course, the thing that annoyed him and impressed him were one in the same. He was amazed by how persistent Ianto was. He really didn't think Ianto had it in him to continually badger some one until he was accepted, but that was one of the reasons Jack let him in. He did have a backbone buried somewhere in there.

_"And this is Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time," Jack turned to Ianto, who smiled as he was introduced._

_Ianto politely bowed his head. "I try my best."_

_"And he looks good in his suit."_

_"Careful," Ianto called as Jack walked past. "That's harassment, sir."_

Ah, yes. Gwen's first introduction to Torchwood. It hadn't been all that long since Ianto had joined. Jack found it a little funny that Ianto was working for them doing just what he had said. Shop keeper, food fetcher, coffee brewer, cleaning up messes and all those kinds of things. A butler is what he was, really. A butler who knew how to shoot a gun. The young man had been good to his word. Jack had never regretted letting Ianto join him after he saw he was a good worker.

Well, hadn't regretted it until tonight.

_Ianto was so lost and confused, barely noticing he was walking. He had a dazed look about him, but Jack never looked to notice. He just gave Toshiko orders and after lying Owen down, put his hand on Ianto's shoulder to keep him from walking away._

_"On your knees," Jack commanded Ianto, turning him around, forcing Ianto to his knees and effectively bringing him back to reality. "Hands above your head!"_

_Ianto never looked up at Jack as he obeyed, raising his arms and putting his hands submissively on the back of his head. He didn't need to look up to know the barrel of Jack's Webley was mere inches away from his forehead. He was fighting back emotions as he knelt down before their leader._

_"Jack, for God's sake, what are you doing?" Toshiko cried, flashing her flashlight to see Jack's face._

_"Tosh! I gave you an order!" Jack cried, never moving. After a pause, he barked out "Gwen, help her!"_

_Toshiko obeyed, seeing that this was not the time to question Jack. She turned her attention to the structure behind Jack, though she kept glancing at the two men._

_"Did you know that thing was down there?" Jack asked, his voice only slightly calmer._

_"I put her there," Ianto replied, his voice unwavering._

_"You hid a Cyberman within Torchwood?" Jack's voice was quivering with anger as he pulled Ianto's head to the side, grabbing a hold of the short hair. With the other hand, he pressed the end of the gun on Ianto's temple. "And you didn't tell us? What else are you keeping from us?!"_

_"Like you care," Ianto spoke, his voice showing he was near his breaking point. Jack let go and backed away, lowering his gun a little. "I clean up your shit," Ianto nearly sobbed as he held his hands on his head, staying on his knees and looking up to Jack. "No questions asked and that's the way you like it. When did you last ask me anything about my life?"_

_Jack angrily disengaged and lowered his gun in one fluid movement._

Jack hung his head. That was the darkest moment in Torchwood, he thought. The group had been through a lot by then. Aliens of all kinds, death of a comrade, but betrayal was the worst. And not only that, it was betrayal by the one person he thought was more loyal than any body else. Ianto was right though. They thought they knew him, everyone did, but the truth was that no one knew him. Jack had read that Ianto had been with someone a while back, but when they met for the second time, Ianto had stated she was dead. Jack supposed that she might as well have been.

Jack shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He remembered vividly that night. That terrifying, awful night. The night that everything changed. Ianto had become more than just a tea boy and butler. He was a human being with feelings and emotions. Jack really hadn't wanted to shoot Ianto, though he had been completely prepared to do so. For what he had done, that's what Ianto really deserved. But Jack couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger without giving Ianto a second, or third, chance. He didn't want that kind of reputation._  
_

_"If you're interested, I've still got that stopwatch," Ianto stated, seeing Jack's face._

_Jack looked at him with a puzzled expression. "So?"_

_"Well, think about it. Lots of things you can do with a stopwatch," Ianto stated plainly, smiling a little._

_Jack paused, and chuckled as a smile came over his face. "Oh yeah. I can think of a few."_

_"There's quite a list."_

_"I'll send the others home early. See you in my office in ten," he held up his wrist to look at his watch._

_"That's ten minutes," Ianto pulled the tarnished, sliver stopwatch out of his pocket, "and counting," he pressed the button on the top to start it._

_Jack pushed off the doors and began to walk away while Ianto crossed to the other side of Suzie's body. But then he turned to look at Jack._

_"Oh Jack!" he called, causing Jack to stop and turn back to look at him. "What do you want me to say on the death certificate?"_

_Jack thought about this, looking down. "Good question."_

_"She had quite a few deaths in the end."_

_"I dunno," he paused as he thought. And then he looked seriously back at Ianto again. "Death by Torchwood."_

_There was another moment of silence._

_"I'll put a lock on the door just in case she goes walking again," Ianto offered. _

_"Nah," Jack shook his head. "No chance of that. The resurrection days are over thank God."_

_He turned and started to walk away again._

_"Well, I wouldn't be too sure," Ianto called, though he was looking down at the clipboard he held in his hands. "That's the thing about gloves, sir," he looked up and watched Jack stop. "They come in pairs."_

Jack perked a little.

That was true. He remembered Ianto stating that about the last Resurrection Gauntlet, the one they had destroyed when it nearly killed Gwen. He wasn't sure if it was accurate for this glove. Technically, it wasn't an actual glove. It was…well, a gauntlet. They were made in pairs too, usually.

But the nagging thought in his mind crept up, asking if he really wanted to take the risk. It was Ianto, and Ianto's life was worth it to him, worth every chance and risk, but would the others agree? He would give everything to bring his lover back, and yet, he felt the rest of his team wouldn't agree. They didn't have the same relationship with Ianto, naturally.

Of course, the other consideration was that he wasn't even sure a companion gauntlet existed. That would be too much to hope for. He was just caught up in wishful thinking. That's all the other glove was at this point. It was just a symbol of hope that Ianto would walk and talk with the rest of them again, even if it was just a minute or two. That didn't change the fact that Ianto was dead, and he died right before Jack's eyes.

"And I was powerless to save him…" Jack growled to himself.

Something caught Jack's attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something on the corner of the cabinet behind his desk. Swiveling around, he got a good look at it. It was a dark, small leather-bound book with a strap and latch on the side, though it was not fastened. Extra papers stuck out at various intervals and dark tabs marked certain pages. Jack reached out and grabbed the thing, bringing it closer though he didn't need to in order to identify the object.

It was Ianto's diary.

Jack flicked the strap a little, a very weak chuckle coming out of his mouth. "Never could keep the stupid thing closed."

He ran his fingers across the black cover before flipping it open to a random page. He read a little of the entry before flipping to another. Another partial entry read before he continued forward. He did this multiple times, each time sinking his spirits lower and lower. And when he flipped it open to the last, currently blank page, he nearly lost it.

Tucked away in the back, as though it was a forgotten memory, was a single, tattered picture from years ago. It was of Ianto and Lisa. The backdrop was a green, grassy field encased by a healthy forest. They looked to be on a picnic since there was a wicker basket just visible behind Ianto. The pair was smiling, even Ianto. It was a smile Jack had never truly seen on Ianto's face, a true, genuine, happy smile. Lisa was smiling too, teasingly holding her fingers right above Ianto's head as though she was doing bunny ears but got tired.

It hit Jack, as he looked at the picture, just how young Ianto really was. Twenty-five. He had a whole lifetime in front of him, many decades to come, but he was shot down by a revenge-crazy scientist. Ianto was just doing what came naturally: serving and protecting. He had done that right to the end.

A morose smile creased Jack's lips. Even when he was unhappy, Ianto tried so hard to please. Jack had never really noticed how miserable Ianto had been. He had been secretive and it wasn't until he had been working there a while that he saw just how depressed, especially after the half-converted Lisa had been slaughtered. Jack felt he was just starting to see the real Ianto, the Ianto that existed below the depression. He was just starting to break through Ianto's sadness and show him that he can find love again. Or at least, Jack fancied that he was. Still, it was a moot point. He would never really know. Ianto was gone. He couldn't be brought back. The very thought made the small smile he had melt away once again.

_"That's the thing about gloves, sir. They come in pairs."_

Jack shook his head. That one phrase. That one simple phrase refused to leave him alone. Of all the things he had to be remembering about Ianto and what he said, that would've been Jack's last choice. He admitted that Ianto made a good point, but it didn't matter. And if circumstances weren't going to change, he'd much rather think about other things and better times.

_"That's the thing about gloves, sir. They come in pairs."_

But mates for gloves got lost all the time. Buried or discarded or destroyed, as they had done with the first gauntlet. Even if there had been one, there's no promise it was still around. Whether it was or wasn't still in existence was a huge factor. He didn't want to go looking after the thing if it no longer existed.

_"That's the thing about gloves, sir. They come in pairs."_

Besides, he didn't even know where to look. The first one they found was a fluke. A very lucky fluke, though it turned bad, but a fluke nonetheless. It wasn't supposed to happen. He couldn't just track it down, especially if it was dormant. It probably had gone without use since the time of its creation. Otherwise, Torchwood would've picked it up already. It would have no energy signature if it had been inactive that long. That meant he couldn't find it.

Unless…

Jack set the diary down on his desk, springing to his feet and grabbing his military coat as he slipped the stopwatch into his pocket, feeling it drop heavily to the bottom. Racing out the door of his office, he quickly jogged down the steps.

"No one is to touch him until I get back, understand?!" Jack called as he went for the gear door. "If there is even on extra scratch on him, someone will be hurting!" he shot a warning look at Owen, who was sitting in his chair at his computer.

"Wasn't planning on it after the last threat you made," Owen raised his hands and his eyebrows. "But where—"

Jack was out the door the door before Owen could complete his question, leaving the rest of his bewildered staring after him.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's note: I intentionally skipped the scene with Jack encountered the tarot card reader and finding the glove. The reason is because nothing would change and I figure that most people reading this would know how he found it. If you don't, go watch "Dead Man Walking."

The alarm on the geared door alerted everyone to an incoming visitor. Jack ran into the hub, startling everyone. They looked up from their various places around the hub, watching as he ran right past them and up to his office. Jack didn't even say anything, even when Gwen called to him, he ignored them. He was focused, running right to his office.

He set the wooden box he was carrying down onto the desk and was just opening it up when the others came in behind him.

"Jack, what have you got there?" Gwen asked, coming to a halt just behind Jack.

None of the others could see what was in the box as he had his back turned towards them and was blocking his desk.

Jack didn't hurry though, moving slowly, almost reverently. He reached his hands into the box and gently removed what was inside. Taking a breath, he turned around, holding the object in his left hand.

He held a metal gauntlet, worn and blackened with time. It looked similar to the Resurrection Gauntlet that had been used to revive Suzie and many others, but it was different. The fingers on this glove looked menacing compared to the previous glove. This glove looked more feral than the last. The other glove, as the group remembered, appeared to just be off a suit of medieval armor. This glove, however, didn't seem to be made for human hands. To just look at it, the glove looked to be from a suit of armor of a clawed creature.

No one noticed the blood on Jack's shirt or the tear in his collar or even the cut above his eye. Their eyes just focused on the glove.

"Oh my God," Toshiko gasped.

"Jack, you can't be serious!" Owen cried. "Remember what happened the last time."

"I remember full well what happened last time," Jack stated. "I know. But I'm going to use the glove anyway. I'm bringing Ianto back."

"Jack, how can—" Gwen started, but Jack was already running out of the room.

The entourage followed him out into the main part of the hub, straggling behind as Jack ran through the hub.

"Jack! Jack! Don't do this!" Owen called as Jack went down to the autopsy room.

"You can't! We don't know what this will do!" Gwen agreed. "The last one was a disaster."

"Different glove, different effect," Jack stated, slipping it over his hand as he went to Ianto's head.

"You can't though, Jack," Owen protested. "You may be immortal, but we don't need to press that!"

"Please, Jack, don't," Toshiko spoke softly.

"It's not up for discussion," Jack growled, moving his fingers a little.

"I believe you said the last one didn't work for you though!" Gwen noted.

"As I stated, different glove, different effect. And it was a different circumstance than before," Jack briefly glanced up at her. "I'm going to make it work for me. It will work. I won't take no for an answer."

Owen sighed as Jack readied himself. Seeing there was no stopping the leader, Owen went to the computer, bringing up the vital signs monitoring program and projecting it onto the white wall behind him. All the lines for the various functions were flat, as was expected, causing a high, monotone pitch to remind them all that the body on the table was dead as if they had all forgotten.

Jack slipped his ungloved hand into his pocket and pulled out the stopwatch.

"If you have anything you want or need to say to Ianto, now's your chance," Jack stated, looking around.

The rest nodded and watched Jack. He then took a steadying breath and slipped the metal glove under Ianto's head, letting it rest gently on the palm. His face contorted as he concentrated, and his eyes closed.

Jack could feel the power surge through him. It made him a little breathless, but he kept on pushing. He was going purely by feeling, trying to sense the soul even in the darkness.

_"Ianto,"_ Jack called.

The others watched him. He wasn't aware he was talking out loud.

_"Ianto, can you hear me? Ianto, where are you?"_ Jack took a breath. _"Ianto, come back. Please. Ianto?"_

Jack opened his eyes, looking at the others. They were watching intently, waiting for a sign.

"I think," Jack took a breath. "I think he's coming. It's hard though. Searching the darkness for a single person is hard."

"I can't believe you're actually doing it," Toshiko stated.

Jack didn't listen to her. _"Ianto? Come back. Ianto?"_

He could feel a soul, a familiar presence on the edge of existence, on the edge of the darkness. It was there, he could perceive it. It was there. Without knowing for sure, without seeing, he was certain it was Ianto. He was positive.

_"Ianto," _he called again. _"Ianto. Come back, please. I need you to come back."_ Jack opened his eyes, looking down at Ianto's body expectantly. "Come on. Come on, I need this."

Ianto's eyes suddenly sprung open, taking in a huge, gasping breath. The vital signs monitors on the screen jumped to life, registering his frantic state. His eyes darted around quickly while Jack clicked the button to start the stopwatch.

"Where…where am I?" Ianto gasped as his eyes continued to look around. "The Hub? The autopsy room? But I got shot. I was dead. How? How am I here?"

"Ianto, look at me, it's Jack," Jack stated, setting the stopwatch on the table by Ianto's head and using his hand to stroke Ianto's forehead. "We brought you back. Just for a few minutes though unfortunately."

"How? How could you?"

"Another resurrection gauntlet."

"So I was right. There were two."

"Yeah."

Ianto listened for a beat and turned his head to the side a little, but he couldn't turn it very far. "I hear ticking. Is that my stopwatch?"

"Yeah, it is."

"How long is left?"

"About a minute fifteen," Jack looked up to the others around the room. "Anyone want to say anything?"

"Thank you, Ianto," Martha was the first to speak. "You saved my life."

"Just wanted to help," Ianto tried to smile a little.

"I must say thank you as well. I probably would've been the one to get it if you hadn't taken the shot," Owen hung his head. "If you hadn't protected us, it might've been one of us lying on the steel table."

"Forty five seconds. Anyone else?" Jack looked around.

"Thank you Ianto, for all your hard work," Toshiko tried to smile even through her tears.

"It was a pleasure," Ianto stated.

"Ianto," Jack knelt down so he was closer to Ianto's face. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," he stroked Ianto's forehead. "But Ianto, listen, don't be afraid, okay? Don't be afraid of the darkness. Be strong, for me."

"Jack, I'm not afraid," Ianto tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"You're not afraid of the dark?"

"I'm not. I haven't been."

Jack's eyes flicked to the stopwatch on the other side of Ianto's head. Fifteen seconds left. The time was going too fast.

"Fifteen seconds. I'm going to miss you Ianto," Jack stated. He tried to smile a little, but was failing. "I don't think I'll ever be able to replace you. Goodbye my friend. And just so you know, I think Lisa would be very proud of you."

"She already is," Ianto stated.

Jack leaned over and kissed Ianto's forehead as Ianto's eyes closed and the monitor's beeping slowed steadily until it became a monotone signal once again. A single tear eased from Jack's eye, but he showed nothing more. He pulled the gloved hand away from Ianto's head and slipped the glove off his hand. He picked up the stopwatch and clicked the button on the top again, stopping the counting clock. With a sigh, Jack walked over to the edge, looking up at Gwen.

"Could you put this in my office?" he asked, offering her the glove. "I need a few more minutes."

"Sure," Gwen took the glove from him.

"Jack," Owen called. "We've got a...bit of a situation."

"Not now Owen," Jack sighed.

"No, it's about Ianto. Some thing odd's going on."

"What?" Jack came up beside Owen, who was still looking up at the projection.

"Look," Owen pointed up, "he's registering no pulse, no respiration, no blood pressure, and yet, he's got electrical activity in the brain."

"Couldn't it just be residual, like body temperature?" Jack asked, seeing the reading Owen was talking about. The only active reading up there.

"No," Owen shook his head. "He's been dead too long."

"So…he's still alive?"

"It appears he is to a point."

"Why isn't he still awake?" Jack looked over at Ianto.

"Just unconscious. The brainwave patterns on the reading are the same as a person who is unconscious. Still there and active, just not as much as it would be were they awake."

"But you're not using the glove. I've got the glove," Gwen stated, holding up the gauntlet.

"Put it down," Jack suggested.

Gwen set the glove on the ground and stepped away. Still, the activity in Ianto's brain still registered. Jack went back to Ianto's side.

"Ianto?" Jack knelt down beside Ianto, grabbing one of Ianto's clammy hands and stroking his forehead. "Ianto, are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Ja…Jack?" Ianto's speech was soft and slow at first. His eyes opened lethargically, but when they did finally open fully, they were looking right at Jack's face.

Jack smiled. "Hey."

Jack took a step back and let go of Ianto's hand, allowing Ianto to sit up and look around properly.

"What am I still doing here?" Ianto asked, looking down at himself. "And what is that?"  
He passed his fingers over the gapping wound in his chest.

"That's where you were shot."

"Naturally," Ianto shrugged a little. "It's just…bigger than I expected."

"Haven't seen many gunshot wounds have you?" Owen asked.

"No…I suppose not as many as you," Ianto's eyes nervously looked around to everyone. "Would it be possible to get me some pants? All I seem to have covering me is a blanket."

"Oh, right, sorry," Jack chuckled.

Toshiko was the first to react, running out of the room to retrieve the requested pants. She quickly returned with a pair of slacks as well as a pair of boxers and a white button up shirt from the closet in the tourist shop office. She handed them to Jack who gave them to Ianto.

Jack ushered them out of the autopsy room while Ianto put on the clothing.

"Jack, I need to examine him," Owen stated when Jack stood in the entrance to the autopsy room.

"You will," Jack nodded his head. "Just give him a chance to get dressed. Then you can do all the tests and whatnot you want."

"I'll be helping," Martha stepped forward. "Least I can do."

Jack smiled a little. "I really would expect nothing less."

"Jack!" Ianto called, causing Jack to look behind him.

"Looks like he's done. Let's go see what we're dealing with exactly," Jack turned around, leading the pair down into the autopsy room again.

No one noticed that the glove had been left on the floor. Nor did anyone notice it twitched as they walked by.


	4. Chapter 3

"Jack, why is this happening?" Ianto asked as the two doctors moved around behind him.

"I don't know," Jack replied.

"Tell me about yourself," Owen requested, walking up to Ianto with a clipboard.

"What? Why? You know who I am," Ianto cocked his head.

"Please, it's just a test of memory. We're just trying to see where we stand," Martha replied.

"Ianto Jones, born August 19, 1983 in Cardiff," Ianto reported almost mechanically, tugging at one of the sleeves, straightening it out. "My father died when I was thirteen. I had a minor conviction for shoplifting when I was sixteen, but I was let off easy with community service. Lived in Cardiff for a number of years until I moved to London to join the Torchwood Institute there. I was there working as a Junior Researcher in Information Retrieval until the Battle at Canary Wharf. I barely managed to get out. I moved back to Cardiff after to work at Torchwood Cardiff, which is where I am now. I've been here a few months shy of two years," he stopped and looked squarely at Owen. "So, how's my memory?"

"Good," Owen nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was shot once in the chest by a Dr. Copley. Of course, the bullet wound is a give away."

"To how you died, maybe. To who killed you, not really," Owen shrugged, writing something down.

"Do you know who we are?" Martha asked, coming up beside him and putting the earpieces of her stethoscope in her ears.

"Jack, Owen, and you're Martha," Ianto pointed to each of them in turn. "Toshiko and Gwen are here too, but I guess they're not down here right now."

"Doesn't seem to have any memory loss," Owen stated.

Ianto jumped a little when he felt the cold head of the stethoscope on his chest. Even through his shirt, he could feel how cold it was.

"But he has no heartbeat," Martha reported, putting her stethoscope back around her neck. "No heart sounds whatsoever. And few breathing sounds. Only when he talks."

"Have to have air passing over the vocal chords for speech," Owen shrugged.

"Question is, where is his brain energy coming from?"

"Last time, Suzie was gaining power from Gwen," Ianto stated.

"Maybe Ianto's taking energy from Jack," Owen suggested.

"How poetic," Ianto sighed. "Scary, but touching I suppose."

"Except I don't feel anything. I feel perfectly alright," Jack protested.

"I'm feeling pretty good, for what it's worth," Ianto added.

"Tosh! Could you come down here please?" Owen called. "Bring your filament filter!"

"Sure," came Toshiko's reply.

A few moments later, Toshiko came down the stairs carrying an electronic device. Gwen was close behind her, though Gwen came to lean on the rail. Martha moved up the stairs a little, giving Toshiko room.

"What's that?" Martha asked.

"It's a filament filter," Toshiko explained as she scanned Jack who had spread his arms out in preparation. "It detects biochemical energy. It's how we knew that Suzie was draining Gwen. The changes indicated it, but I don't detect any changes in Jack's."

"As I said, I feel fine," Jack stated when she pulled the scanner away. He let his arms fall to his side.

"As do I," Ianto replied. "But the energy must be coming from somewhere."

"This glove is different," Gwen called, picking up the glove. "It doesn't just look different. It feels different. It feels…almost completely different. Maybe it reacts differently."

"I'm pretty sure I mentioned that earlier, but yes, that's probably true."

"Where'd you get the first one?" Martha asked.

"Out of the harbor. Fished it out a while back."

"Where did it come from? And how many are there?"

"Dunno, and we're guessing only two," Jack stated.

"They do tend to come in pairs," Ianto added.

"Tosh, could you run an analysis on this?" Jack pointed to the glove.

"Of course," Toshiko nodded, walking up the stairs and receiving the glove from Gwen.

"Ianto, you should know that you'll have to stay here."

"Yes, I know. It's okay," Ianto nodded.

"Jack, something weird's going on," Toshiko stated as she passed the blue light over Ianto's body.

"Yes, I know," Jack sighed. "Of course something weird's going on."

"Then add this to the list," Toshiko was still passing the scanner over Ianto. "The scanner is picking up a strange energy."

"What kind?"

"Not sure, but it's building. It's spreading."

"Spreading, how?" Jack took a step forward.

"All over his body."

"Get the analysis of the glove done quickly," Jack stated, turning to go up the stairs to his office.

Over the next hour or so, Ianto was prodded, scanned, and examined by the two doctors. Gwen was researching the glove on her own while Toshiko ran tests on the glove. Ianto was getting tired of being asked questions and overall examined. He was ready to just get away from it. But he knew that Jack wouldn't let him go home any time soon.

He was relieved when Owen left the autopsy room. If he was leaving, Ianto guessed that their examination was close to done for now.

"Here we go Ianto," Martha returned to Ianto's side. "Wear this."

"What's it for?" Ianto asked as she strapped a watch-like device onto Ianto's wrist.

"It's to track the changes in your body," Martha replied. "If anything changes, we'll know."

"That's good."

"What was it like?" Martha asked as Ianto stood from the steel table.

"What?" Ianto looked back to her.

"Dying, what was it like?"

Ianto paused on his way up the stairs. "Confusing at first. I can't really remember all the details. It's hazy. I just remember impressions."

"And?"

"It was good. I was happy," Ianto face fell. "Should've known it was too good to last."

"Would you go back?"

"Yes. Happily."

Ianto suddenly felt weak, his knees quivering under his slight weight. His eyelids blinked lazily. His mind's thoughts swiftly blurred and muddle in his head. He couldn't make a coherent thought. Still, he tried to continue up the steps. He heard Martha call out to him, but she sounded so distant. Another step to the top, but it was a fight to get there. He could barely make out his name. He was only vaguely aware of Martha's cry for help. It was so detached, so remote. He wasn't even aware he fell. He just felt himself slipping into darkness.


End file.
